Is this the Human Security Act in action?

It is time that the UP students to take legal action against this. This will probably be the first test case for the HSA.

Our politician sure are suave in screwing the people (that’s us) up.

The victory celebration for the opposition win in the Senate of the Republic was premature. We saw the term turncoat being redefined as political savvy. In this, Manny Villar and Loren Legarda are the same.

To keep his post as President of the Senate, Villar, who ran under the opposition banner, sought the support of the Siths, er, administration and fence-straddlers when the opposition nominated Aquilino Pimentel Jr. for president of the chamber. The opposition, who should be the majority, became a minority, all because they are composed of ambitious, anti-people politicians who would rather screw up their mandates than sacrifice their hideous ambitions. Now we have a mongrel of a majority in the Senate.

(This is to be expected from Villar. Remember 2000?)

And now, this.

Gloria, Loren kiss, laugh and make up

We’ll see what happens after this. Note that Legarda is as suave as Villar when it comes to crossing fences.

So that’s two presidentiables stricken off on my list. If Panfilo Lacson is not careful, he will be next.

Mr. Noted, Senator Francis Pangilinan, has vowed to block the appointment of Atty. Adel Tamano as general counsel of the Blue Ribbon Committee. Senator Alan Peter Cayetano, who chairs the said committee, withdrew the plan to forestall an ugly confrontation in the mongrel majority. Tamano instead was appointed president of Pamantasan ng Lungsod ng Maynila.

Mr. Noted is now Mr. Blocker.

Pangilinan has not explained his opposition to the appointment of Tamano, but one theory floating around is vendetta. From Ellen Tordesillas:

It was Tamano who reportedly gave Pangilinan an ultimatum to attend the GO proclamation rally and its sorties if he wanted to be drafted into the GO senatorial lineup. Pangilinan stuck to his independent stance and was subsequently dropped from the opposition slate. He won his senatorial bid just the same.

Another theory is that Mr. Noted is just delivering from the Fortress a message to Senator Manny Villar. Again, from Ellen Tordesillas:

A source said Pangilinan was merely delivering Malacañang’s message to Villar on Tamano. Arroyo’s advisers are thinking that it’s bad enough that the Blue Ribbon committee went to their “enemy”. They foresee more problems if Cayetano is in partnership with a popular, principled general counsel.

Malacañang sees Tamano as an opposition senatorial bet in 2010 and they do not want to give him a platform for his future political plans.

Malacañang found a perfect hatchet man for Tamano in the person of Mr. Noted who has an axe to grind with the GO spokesman. Days before the opposition proclamation rally at Plaza Miranda, GO leaders issued an ultimatum to Pangilinan, whom they adopted as guest candidate, to decide whether he would join the GO rally or be dropped from the slate. Pangilinan opted to be “independent” and GO settled with 11 candidates.

Sources said Pangilinan takes it against Tamano that he is seen as an opportunist.

I have another theory. I find the personal vendetta to be amusing but lousy, unless of course Mr. Noted is that kind of man. The Fortress theory is insidious, and I am getting goosebumps when I think of it – it meant that Mr. Noted was a Trojan horse. Anyway, my theory centers on 2010. What is Mr. Noted’s plan for that year? Unless he is content serving his six year in the Senate, he should have no plans. However, he is on his second term, and come 2013, he can’t run for the Senate again. Hmm. Maybe a vice-presidential run is possible. The presidency is too early for him.

Where does Tamano comes in? Ay, there’s the rub. Well, is Tamano a vice-presidentiable? What do you think? Is he a political threat?

Lucio Tan now owns SM Investments, the holding firm that controls the SM empire.

No, I am not kidding. From ABS-CBN News:

SM Investments H1 net income up 16% yr/yr

SM Investments Corp., a holding firm controlled by the group of tycoon Lucio Tan, said Friday its first-half net income grew 16 percent from a year earlier due to strong merchandise sales at groceries and department stores owned by the conglomerate.

In a statement, SM Investments said it had a first-half profit of P5.9 billion.

Excluding extraordinary items, recurring income increased by 21 percent to P3.6 billion amid expansion of stores, malls, banks, and property.

Earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortization (EBITDA) grew 61 percent to P13 billion, resulting in an EBITDA margin of 24 percent.

Consolidated revenues, on the other hand, grew substantially by 96 percent to P55.3 billion in January to June, boosted mainly by the company’s acquisition in June last year of 28 SM Supermarkets and nine SM Hypermarkets.

Merchandise sales, which represent 78.6 percent of consolidated revenues, stood at P43.4 billion, for an increase of 124 percent.

Rental income, which accounts for 9.8 percent of revenues, grew 11 percent to P5.4 billion.

Another reason for Nick to be angry. And oh, boy, that was fast!

COMELEC grants Bedol’s motion for bail

The Commission on Elections granted Wednesday the motion for bail filed by Maguindanao election supervisor Lintang Bedol a day after it sentenced the lawyer to six months in prison for indirect contempt.

A radio DZMM report said Bedol would be released from COMELEC custody after his camp posted P15,000 bail. Bedol spent one night at the COMELEC’s law department in Intramuros, Manila while the poll office prepared his detention papers.

Aside from the jail sentence, Bedol was fined P1,000 for indirect contempt.

The COMELEC said Bedol was guilty of violating COMELEC rules for repeatedly snubbing summonses to attend the its hearings. It added that Bedol failed to attend to the counting of votes from Maguindanao.

The poll body also cited Bedol’s failure to deliver the municipal certificates of canvass to the COMELEC office in Manila and his pronouncements to the media calling on the COMELEC to sue him so he could face his accusers in court.

The COMELEC also scored Bedol for brandishing a pistol during a media interview and admitting that he owned an armory.

COMELEC Chairman Benjamin Abalos Sr. said although Bedol is allowed to be released on bail, he should be available whenever the poll body summons him. He said it would be hard for Bedol to go back to his duties given the numerous complaints filed against him before the commission.

Abalos earlier said Bedol could still face electoral sabotage charges before the commission. “Precisely he will be investigated if his actions will amount to an electoral sabotage. We are not closing the avenue on that. Iimbestigahan siya (He will be investigated),” he told DZMM.

Abalos said the six-month jail sentence was the maximum penalty prescribed by law for Bedol’s violation.

He noted that the charge of infidelity in the custody of public documents against Bedol has been referred to the Department of Justice.

Yes, folks. You can commit a crime, and you can get away with it. Welcome to the Enchanted Kingdom.

—

Now, we can only wish erring government officials will do this. I just find it funny that one got disbarred that way, contrasting that with someone who clearly knows how to twist the law. Well, he almost died, so I guess that’s karma for you.

Atty. Adel Tamano was named regent of PLM. Probably the youngest regent, and probably the youngest and the first non-doctor to become president. Hopefully, Dr. Benjamin Tayabas gets what’s due him.

You know, one of my favorite expressions is “same banana.” Imagine my horror when Judge Oscar Pimentel used that term in his decision to deny all of Senator Antonio Trillanes IV’s motions. The good judge must be wracking his brains for one plausible, legal reason to give in to the Fortress deny the motions. The Department of Justice gave him one, and trashing Trillanes’ reasoning that his case is different from that of convicted rapist Romeo Jalosjos, calling both cases not as “apples and arranges.” They are the *shudders* same banana.

You know, lawyers are supposed to be good at logic. Stretch logic that far, and you end up being a joke.

You know, when you are subjected to ribbing by Manuel Buencamino, it means that you made, using Chicken Mafia‘s favorite term, poop.

Anyway, let’s give the floor to Mr. Buencamino:

First, you flipped the essence of our representative form of government. From “majority of voters rule,” you turned it into “the rule of the nonvoting majority.”

You echoed the Enchanted Kingdom line:
“As the prosecuting arm of the government, its shield and sword of law and order, [the Department of Justice] represents not only the 11,138,067 voters who voted for him, but the people of the Philippines, with all its 85 million citizens and counting.”

Judge, the purpose of elections is to choose representatives. One man with one vote decides who will assume office as our elected representative or representatives, not one woman with more than a million Garci votes.

Now, the right to vote belongs to all Filipinos who meet certain qualifications set forth in our constitution. That means many Filipinos cannot vote. But that doesn’t mean our Constitution is not fair. Parents, for example, are presumed to vote for their children’s welfare until such time as they are old enough to vote.

My point is this: Those who have a right to vote but choose not to exercise that right have no say in our representative form of government. It’s not for you or the Justice Department to overrule the wisdom of voters.

You can’t pull nonvoters out of your rear end, presume to know what they want, and then tell me you’re protecting them from my stupidity. They didn’t vote. I did. So live with it.

Second, Alice in Wonderland is a fantasy tale written by Lewis Carroll. But, even if it were real in some places, we have not, until you enshrined it in your ruling, adopted that fantasyland’s concept of justice—”sentence first, verdict later.”

“Allowing accused-appellant to attend congressional sessions and committee hearings five days or more in a week will virtually make him a free man with all the privileges appurtenant to his position. Such an aberrant situation not only elevates the accused-appellant’s status to that of a special class, it would also be a mockery of the purposes of the correction system.”

Rep. Romeo Jalosjos was convicted. He is in the correction system. Sen. Antonio Trillanes IV is still undergoing trial and presumed innocent until proven guilty beyond reasonable doubt. He is not yet in the correction system.

Please try to keep those facts in their proper order—verdict first, sentence later—so you don’t spout aberrations that mock the very foundation of our justice system. Okay?

You know, the decision stretches things too far, it snapped back at the judge. He tried to overturn two of the most essential pillars of democracy. Let’s stretch this further, OK? So, assuming that the 85 million who did not vote for Trillanes or chose not to outweigh the 11 million who did, let’s disregard Trillanes’ mandate. Heck, let’s disregard Zubiri’s “mandate” too. Or for that matter, all of the Senators, and Gloria Arroyo herself!

Next, an accused is now considered guilty until proven innocent. Now that’s a complete reversal of what’s written in the Constitution. Wow. What a genius. In one bold stroke, the decision has managed to repeal Article III, Section 14, paragraph 2 of the 1987 Constitution. Ain’t that grand!

And finally, with one blogger twitting those who believed Pimentel was wrong, Manuel L. Quezon III consulted Atty. Ed Lacierda, and oh boy:

Sounds logical but it does not work that way. Sometimes during trial and even before final judgment, the constitutional presumption of innocence can be overturned such as unexplained flight. When an accused takes flight, the constitutional presumption to innocence is overturned by the presumption of guilt. As we say in procedural law, flight denotes a presumption of guilt. Thus, it is possible that the constitutional presumption of innocence can be lost subject to the existence of some circumstances.

But he is being ingenious, there is a great distinction between Jalosjos and Trillanes and it is the fact that Jalosjos’ presumption of innocence has been overturned by conviction even if it was still pending appeal. The fact that Jalosjos has been convicted with proof beyond reasonable doubt overturns the constitutional presumption of innocence. Evidence of guilt beyond reasonable doubt always overcomes the constitutional presumption of innocence.

The constitutional presumption of innocence really means that accusation is not synonymous with guilt. But if one is convicted, then it showed that the presumption has been overturned and it is now the turn of the accused to prove that the judgment of conviction is wrong. Moreover, to be very technical about it, an appeal is a statutory right, not a constitutional right.

If you read the Jalosjos decision, the background scenario is that he has already been convicted and is sitting in prison. The equal protection of the laws says that all persons similarly situated should be similarly treated. Jalosjos and Trillanes are not in the same situation. Trillanes has not been convicted so far. His detention is due to the fact that the crime he committed is non-bailable, not because he has been convicted. Thus, he continues to enjoy the presumption of innocence. That is the big difference. By all accounts, your analysis is clear and correct.

And if the guy wants to be consistent, then by all accounts, his presumption of innocence must allow Trillanes to sit as a senator and attend to the senate sessions.

Read the decision, what makes Jalosjos so different from Trillanes is that apart from the conviction, he ran away from his duties in Congress and hid from his fellow congressmen when a warrant of arrest was issued him. Afterwards, he invoked Congress when it was a convenient ploy to secure temporary liberty. That never happened with Sonny Trillanes.

Atty. Lacierda adds more here.

Yeah, discerning, huh? I am no lawyer, but at least I know how to differentiate between poop and logic.

PS: If the judge is really hell-bent on preventing Trillanes from serving his mandate, he should have instead invoked Article III, Section 13. Safer, simple, more logical, not poop.

Nick will lovehate this.

The Comelec has found this year’s election poster boy Lintang Bedol guilty of indirect contempt.

His sentence: six months in prison. And a thousand-peso fine. Peanuts.

Sorry, Bedol. As I have said, you are the poster boy. You did your job well, and this sentence is just a part of it.

UPDATE:

In this ABS-CBN News report, Bedol will post a Php15000 bail. See? Php1000 is peanuts.

The previous post for me was an attempt to trigger my brain into action, and I was disappointed because in the end, all I can say is that the list of Emerging and Influential Blogs of 2007 is a reflection of the Philippine blogsphere – blogsphere including bloggers, commenters, and readers (there’s a distinction between commenters and readers). First let me analyze the comments posted in the previous post.

Schumey thinks the Philippine blogsphere is not yet ready for political blogs per se, assuming of course that the average blog reader is around 16-22 years of age. Arthur’s comment is very direct: “The audience just isn’t there yet. Give it another 3-4 generations.”

Now, assuming that those are true, and connecting it with the results of the writing project, it gives me a scary thought. Political blogs are not that influential; is it safe to say that we have another generation that is detached from the politics and governance of this country?

To argue that there are few new politically-oriented blogs says another argument, coinciding with the average age assumption made earlier, and reinforces the detachment that I have observed.

Jhay Rocas posted a quite lengthy comment, which, I think, sums up all the criticisms about the writing project as a whole, and issues an indictment on the Philippine blogsphere: “Just like in real life, Pinoys (Philippine blogsphere in general – addition mine) really don’t give much about politics today. Sad really.”

AnitoKid has a different take on the matter: “Though not all of their posts focus on Philippine politics and various developments in the nation, those that could be classified as such are interesting reads. They may not entirely focus on the Philippine scene, but they do blog about it.” Again, Jhay’s criticism comes into mind.

Shari made an interesting point: ‘Influence may vary from one person to another. It just so happens that those who participated in the project are “influenced” by the blogs they nominated.’ The way I see it, readers gravitate to blogs that they can relate to, and blogs, in turn, supplies the demand. Now, if a reader prioritizes reading gossip blogs, for example, is it safe to say that it the choice reflects on the reader’s concept of what is valuable, what is important? Maybe. Maybe not.

We cannot say for certain if new political blogs are not as influential as the others. Mam Janette Toral made an interesting Twitter twit last Saturday, in response to the previous blog post: “I think if MLQ submitted earlier, blogs he cited might got more support.” That says a lot about MLQ3’s influence. Now, MLQ3 has been blogging for years, and his influence is undeniable. Now, he cited two political blogs (the same blogs that I had cited) despite that these two are young; it isn’t on the relative age of the blogs, it is on the ideas presented. Just the same, we put much weight on the age of a blog (and a blogger) when it comes to serious topics. (How I wish we know what is the average age of a political blogger.)

So far, here are the things that we can assume from the project:

1. It is assumed that the participants in the Philippine blogsphere are quite young.
2. There is a general disinterest in Philippine politics, bloggers and readers alike.
3. Most bloggers tackle politics from time to time.
4. Blogs cater to the audience it targets; readers gravitate to the blogs that they can most relate to; the blogs that they read reflect on the reader’s values and priorities.

We cannot conclude a lot from the writing project. Now, if the blog age requirement is lifted, we could have an altogether different list, and may be even truly reflective of the state of the Philippine blogsphere and the people involved in it. What we can conclude is that we have a vibrant and lively blogsphere, marked not by conformity but by diversity of ideas. The writing project, the results, and its aftermath, taken as a whole, reflects the true state of Philippine blogsphere.

I know of someone who blogs because not only he wants to express. He wants to influence others. Some political bloggers think this way. They blog because they want to convince people to think the bloggers’ way of thinking. The political blogger wants to influence the reader in making decisions.

Now, I wonder. The emerging influential blogs of 2007 were recently recognized. Looking at the list of awardees, there is no political blogger among them. What does that say about the state of political blogging in the Philippines? What does that say about the state of the Philippine blogosphere?

I want this post to be a marketplace of ideas regarding this issue. Let’s dissect the reason(s) political blogs fared poorly. Aren’t political blogs influential?

Some bloggers have already made their opinion on this issue (alphabetical order):

Benj: Emerging and Influential: Irrenconcilable?
Mam Janette: Leadership is influence
MLQ3: The forgotten front
Nick: Musa Dimasidsing, Technology, and Apathy
Shari: Some Thoughts About the Top 10 Emerging Influential Blogs

MRT North Ave. Station south bound, Thursday, August 2, 2007, 08:40 AM MRT time

This is a normal rush hour scene.